There are more e-readers out there than you know. Not only are there devices of all kinds and configurations and price points, but there are apps a-plenty for these devices a-plenty. But everyone knows what you mean when you say e-reader. You mean the Big Three, the Top Dogs, the Big Kahunas. You mean the trinity of the Kindle, the Nook, and the iPad.

Maybe we'll talk devices another day, but for now both of the iPad's competitors dish up rather full-featured iOS apps to challenge Apple's iBooks. The thinking goes, "Don't worry about profiting off the devices; aim to sell titles, wherever, however." So how do they stack up?

With iCloud lurking in the not so distant future, MobileMe users may be wondering what will happen to their files on iDisk. While Apple has yet to release their plan for MobileMe to iCloud transitions, we can only assume that Apple will phase out iDisk in favor of document syncing and storage in iCloud. If you’re like us, however, you’ll want to take your files off of iDisk and store them on Dropbox or another online storage service.

As if there weren't already enough sites to satiate your desire for a deal, online retail giant Amazon is entering the game with their own daily deals site called AmazonLocal. The service is an online marketplace that works just like Groupon, LivingSocial and Bloomspot: Buy a deal, redeem it soon thereafter and bask in the warm glow of saving $20 on a pedicure.

As long as you don't mind playing games that are a couple years old then Mac gaming isn't really all that bad. Most of the really amazing games that achieve some semblance of popularity eventually get ported over to Mac OS. Such is the case with classics like BioShock.

No Katy Perry this week, but the last few days weren't bereft of hot news stories involving everyone's favorite computer and phone maker and post-PC device thingie maker as patents played a big roll plus a little bad news for one of Apple's competitors. Get out your wallet, Sergey!

The competition's heating up! Or at least, Amazon's really trying for it here by launching its own Mac Download Store.

Although this seems redundant, Amazon does offer titles that are not currently available in Apple's Mac App Store, like Microsoft Office for instance. Also on the roster are titles from developers like Feral Interactive, Electronic Arts and Aspyr and Roxio.

Apple added Amazon.com to its crap list back on March 18 in an effort to prevent the e-tailer from using the term “App Store” for its Android Market wannabe. Amazon fired back by saying the term was “generic,” which Apple is now disputing as well.

Last July, Amazon reported that sales of e-books passed those of hardcovers. This January, e-book sales passed paperbacks. In March, brick-and-mortar bookseller Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Most recently, my beloved neighborhood bookstore, Cover to Cover, called it quits after decades of serving our community as a warm and friendly source of reading and research advice, as well as a comfy haven for kids, grown-ups, and old folks alike.

Computing up "in the clouds" is the new craze. With an abundance of cloud services available from Google, Microsoft and independent companies like Dropbox, one might wonder why you’d need to build your own server solution. But, what if you don’t like the idea of leaving your personal data on another company’s server? Then, you build your own online cloud to store and retrieve your data remotely. In this article, we’ll show you how to use a Mac to set up your own cloud services, including storing and transferring files, streaming media, and even using your Mac to serve up web pages. You can then access these services remotely on your Mac or an iOS device.